Citing high cost, UK regulators reject Roche drug for MS

Regulatory authorities in the UK have declined to give the approval for a Roche drug for the country’s health service system.

The drug, Ocrevus, has already been approved for relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). But the regulatory body has now rejected it for primary-progressive MS (PPMS), a rarer form of the disease that has no other treatment options on the market.

Although Ocrevus is the only medication available for PPMS, NICE said the evidence showing its efficacy is not compelling enough to justify the price tag for the country’s health system.

Roche will continue to work with NICE on the price and said that if “given the flexibility to offer an indication-specific price,” the company can come to an agreement that will satisfy the UK’s cost/benefit threshold.

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